Hate Having Your Photo Taken? What a Directed Headshot Session Is Like

What a directed session asks of you

The photographer's job

• Your posture
• Your angle
• Where you look
• Your expression
• Glare on your glasses
• The background
• The retouching

Your job

• Bring the outfit
• Follow the cue
• Look at the screen
• Choose your frames

Both lists are the stage-by-stage ledger below, read down each column.

Most people freeze the moment a camera comes up. If that is you, it is the photographer's problem to solve, not yours. You do not need to know how to pose, and you do not need any experience in front of a camera. The direction is there so a frame works even if you have never liked a photo of yourself.

Here is what happens in a directed headshot session, in the order it happens, split into what the photographer does and what you do.

The session, stage by stage

Stage The photographer You

01Before the first frame

The photographerGoes through your wardrobe options with you and sets a background that suits what the images are for. If you wear glasses, the lights are angled to keep reflections off the lenses.

YouBring your outfit, and a second option.

02Posture

The photographerDirects it, one cue at a time.

YouFollow the cue.

03Angle

The photographerSets it: a slight lean toward the camera, chin forward and a touch down so the jawline reads cleanly. Chin up and straight at the lens is the stiff version, and it is the photographer's job to catch it.

YouFollow the cue.

04Where to look, and expression

The photographerCoaches the expression with small adjustments, live, until it reads the way you want it to. Relaxed eyes do most of the work.

YouFollow the cue.

05Partway through

The photographerBrings the images up on screen so you can review them together and adjust.

YouLook at the screen.

06End of the session

The photographerReviews all of the images with you on screen.

YouChoose the frames you want retouched and delivered.

07Retouching

The photographerCleans up distractions. Nothing gets reshaped.

YouNothing.

Stages and cues from the ATX Headshots session description and client guidance, checked 2026-09-29.

ATX Headshots studio sessions, each directed one cue at a time.

Why the screen matters

Stage 05 is the one that changes how the session feels. Partway through, the frames come up on screen and you can see the direction working. That makes it easier to relax into the rest of it, and anything that needs changing is adjusted there and then.

It also means nothing is decided for you after you leave. You review the images and choose your frames on screen before you walk out.

If a past set looked like someone else

If a past set came back over-processed, with skin smoothed until you no longer looked like yourself, that was editing, not retouching. Retouching should clean up, not reshape. Distractions get cleaned up, and you still look like the person who walked in.

The same goes for the expression. The gap between a stiff photo and a credible one is usually the face, not the lighting, which is why it is coached rather than left to chance.

Where this comes from

What	Source	Checked
Session stages, review on screen, choosing frames	ATX Headshots FAQ, "What does a typical headshot session look like?"	2026-09-29
Posture, angle and expression cues; glasses; freezing on camera	ATX Headshots client guidance, as given to clients	2026-09-29
Coached expression; editing versus retouching	ATX Headshots studio session description	2026-09-29
Photographs	ATX Headshots studio sessions	2026-09-29

Every individual session at ATX Headshots runs this way. What each session covers is set out on the ATX Headshots studio session page.